Originally published on May 16, 2021 7:21 am
Local activists in the Rio Grande Valley are frustrated with Elon Musk’s SpaceX operation in Boca Chica, just east of Brownsville.
Their concerns range from blocked public access to parks and beaches to long-term ecological damage to region-wide gentrification.
Local leaders, including Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez, regularly post on social media to announce meetings and tours with SpaceX officials while providing updates to local media about the developing relationship between the company and the region.
In a
Rio Grande Guardian, Mendez expressed excitement that housing prices in the area were beginning to “shoot up” as a result of SpaceX and the third-party projects that it has already attracted to the area. Those projects include a newly formed out-of-region venture capital firm dedicated to funding space startups and a media channel that will broadcast only news about the space industry.
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Pieces of debris are seen in a National Wildlife Refuge after uncrewed SpaceX Starship prototype rocket SN11 failed to land safely, in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S. March 31,2021. REUTERS/Gene Blevins
Local activists in the Rio Grande Valley are frustrated with Elon Musk’s SpaceX operation in Boca Chica, just east of Brownsville.
Their concerns range from blocked public access to parks and beaches to long-term ecological damage to region-wide gentrification.
Local leaders, including Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez, regularly post on social media to announce meetings and tours with SpaceX officials while providing updates to local media about the developing relationship between the company and the region.
Originally from Vermont and now based in Harlingen, Bilodeau has spent nearly every week since 2017 at Boca Chica, surveying the populations of birds that depend on the mud flats, beaches, and wetlands here to feed, breed, or rest during migration. “Elon always said this was the place to launch rockets because there’s nothing here, that it’s just a big wasteland,” she says. “But that’s just not true. It’s an amazing place for shorebirds. It’s got to be one of the best places for shorebirds in the country.”
Glance at a map, and it’s not immediately clear why this place is special. As the sandpiper flies, it’s not far from the bustling Port of Brownsville and South Padre’s hotels, kitschy shops, and beach bars. But the port’s long ship channel cuts off Boca Chica from the north, while the Rio Grande cuts it off from the south. In between is a wedge of land accessible by the two-lane State Highway 4, which is guarded by a Border Patrol checkpoint. It can feel
This was no accident : Family sues SpaceX for negligence
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The SpaceX-built Starship SN10 sits obscured on the launch pad Monday, March 1, 2021 in Boca Chica in far south Texas after Monday s scheduled launch was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions. The launch has been rescheduled for some time during the day, Wednesday, March 3, 2021.William Luther, Staff / William Luther
A Rio Grande Valley family is suing SpaceX for negligence following a fatal vehicle accident on Texas 4 before dawn on June 7 near the company’s facility outside Brownsville.
Carlos Venegas, 35, of San Benito, was killed and his wife and three children were injured when their vehicle slammed into an eighteen-wheeler. The truck was stopped in the middle of the highway while trying to turn into the SpaceX facility near Boca Chica village.
Accelerator: Leave Starbase in the stars and don t let Boca Chica fade into history expressnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from expressnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.